Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) – Energy Industry Coordination

On 29 June 2022, the ACCC received an application from Australian Energy Market Operator Limited (AEMO) seeking authorisation for itself, its related Bodies Corporate and current and future energy industry participants to discuss, enter into or give effect to any contract, arrangement or understanding between them, or engage in any conduct, related to certain coordination and information sharing activities that have the purpose of ensuring the safe, secure and reliable operation of energy systems for the benefit of both competition and consumers, minimising the risk of energy outages, and/or ensuring the continued operation and integrity of the National Electricity Market (NEM).

In addition to these required purposes, the proposed conduct is subject to a number of other limitations and proposed conditions.

Specifically, the conduct relates to:

• coordinating repairs and maintenance
• sharing essential personnel
• sharing essential inputs
• sharing information regarding ongoing operation
• deferring non-essential works, and
• managing system stability.

On 1 July 2022, the ACCC granted urgent interim authorisation, with conditions, to enable the participants to engage in the above conduct, subject to some amendments and limitations, prior to the ACCC’s final determination.

On 14 November 2022, the ACCC issued a final determination granting authorisation until 30 April 2023.

The ACCC’s final determination, interim authorisation decision and a copy of the application for authorisation are available below.